Golf club with twin shafts



M. HULYK GOLF CLUB WITH TWIN SHAFTS Filed Aug. 5, 1967 INVENTOR. 273M022a ia /k United States Patent 3,529,826 GOLF CLUB WITH TWIN SHAFTS MyronHulyk, 20037 Edmunton, St. Clair Shores, IVIich. 48080 Filed Aug. 3,1967, Ser. No. 658,127 Int. Cl. A63b 53/00, 53/02, 53/14 US. Cl. 273-80Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf club having a head with a ballcontacting face and a pair of twin shafts extending upwardly from thehead. An enlarged grip assembly maintains the shafts in spaced relation,and with the shaft mounting at the club head, tends to prevent twistingof the club face in the swing arc. Vibration damping material is placedbetween the shafts.

This invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly to a golfclub having a ball contacting face so related to the grip assembly as tohave more complete control over the club face as it is moved in itsswing arc.

There are all sorts and sizes of golf clubs presently available for thegolfer to choose from, each of which is a different shape and hasdifferent advantages and disadvantages. The selection of a club isdependent entirely upon the likes and dislikes of the user. There are,however, certain common problems with many golf club structuresregardless of their shape or size, such problems being inherent in theirdesign and in the manner in which a golf club is normally used by agolfer. A typical example is in putter constructions, wherein allputters are provided with a ball contacting face of considerable lengthrelative to the diameter of the ball.

The usually desirable putting swing is to have the face of the clubtravel in an arc in a plane normal to the desired direction of balltravel. The club face should always be in a position normal to thedesired direction. However, the usual putting stance and swing can causea twisting of the club face during the swing unless great care isexercised by the golfer in striking the ball. Such twist occurs becauseof the motion of the club head as it is brought back by the golfer, thetwist normally not being compensated for, and the ball is caused totravel in an unwanted path following the impact. Additionally, theexcessive length of the club face relative to the diameter of the ballcan cause the ball to go off in the wrong direction if, as often occurs,the ball is struck near the toe of the club head, such being easilypossible with presently designed golf clubs.

The device in which this invention is embodied comprises, generally, agolf club including a head having a ball contacting face of any suitabledimension, and a pair of upwardly extending and spaced shafts. At theupper end of the twin shafts is a broad handle assembly for holding andswinging the club.

Such a club provides more accurate control of the club face relative tothe ball, both during the swing of the club head and during the instantof impact with the ball, to avoid the twisting or turning problem of theclub face relative to the ball. The twin shaft arrangement and the broadgrip structure combine to provide a more accurate feel as the club isused, and thus better control of the club face as it approaches theball. At the same time, the twin shaft and broad grip combinationprevents the problem of club twist at the moment of impact, regardlessof where the point of contact of the ball with the club face occurs.These and other advantages will become more apparent from the followingdescription and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a golf club embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the golf club illustrated in FIG.1, with parts broken away and in section.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the golf club illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2,taken substantially along the line 33 of FIG. 1 and looking in thedirection of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the grip structure of the clubillustrated in FIGS. 1-3, taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG.2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, FIGS. 1 and 2. bestillustrate the overall golf club construction. It is to be understoodfrom the outset that the inventive concept relates to all golf clubs,whether woods or irons and whether shallow or steep faces. Forconvenience, the following description and drawing are related to aputter.

The golf club illustrated in the drawing includes a head, indicatedgenerally by the numeral 10, the head having a ball contacting face 12and sufiicient Weight therebehind to properly balance the club and toprovide the required amount of impact force. Head 12 includes a bottomsurface 14 merging into arcuate surfaces 16 and '18, the surface 18merging into the face 12. Arcuate surfaces 16 and 18 are provided toprevent the head from scuffing the grass or ground, indicated by dashedand dotted lines 20, in either the back swing or fore swing.

Extending upwardly and outwardly over the club face 12 is a gooseneckportion 22, integrally formed from the club head 10. Extending upwardlyfrom the gooseneck 22 and from the club head 10 is the handle assembly,indicated generally by the numeral M. Handle assembly 24 includes twoshafts 26 and 28, shaft 28 being secured to the upper portion of thegooseneck 22 and shaft 26 being secured in the head 10 at a point spacedfrom the connection of the shaft 28.

Shafts 26 and 28 may be tubular in construction and secured to thegooseneck 22 and club head 10 in any suitable fashion. For convenienceit is shown that shaft 28 is secured to the gooseneck 22 by means of apin 30, suitably received in a cylindrical opening '32 in the gooseneck22, and extending upwardly into the tubular shaft 28 for anchoringpurposes. Similarly, shaft 26 is a tubular member and is secured in theclub head 10 bY means of a pin or shaft 34 suitably received in acylindrical aperture 36 in the head 10. Pin 34 extends upwardly withinthe shaft 26 for anchoring purposes.

At the upper ends of the twin shafts 26 and 28 is the grip assembly,indicated generally by the numeral 38. Grip assembly 38 includes ahandle member 40 of any suitable material. The handle member 40extending between the twin shafts 26 and 28, is best illustrated in FIG.4. Such construction maintains the relative location of the two shaftsand at the same time provides a broad grip surface at both the front andback of the club for ease and comfort of the user. A cap member 42 issuitably secured on the ends of the shaft 26 and 28 and the upper end ofthe handle member 40.

It is preferred that the gooseneck 22 and its upwardly extending shaft28 be so disposed relative to the club face 12 that the plane containingthe impact point of the club head with the ball falls between the shafts26 and 28. Thus, the twin shaft and grip assembly give the user the feelof striking the ball directly in alignment with his hands, or with aguiding finger thus providing better control over the impact of the clubface 12 with the ball 44. To accomplish this it is necessary that theshafts 26 and 28 be effectively joined to the club head 10 at spacedpoints or locations. While the assembly is shown in the drawing toinclude twin shafts 26 and 28 in alignment in a plane normal to theplane of the face 12, they could also be so disposed such that the twinshafts 26 and 28 join the head ,10 at points spaced both laterally ornormal to the club face 12, and longitudinally of the head 10. It isdesirable that at the grip portion 28 the two shafts be parallel andproperly aligned.

In order to avoid transmission of any objectional vibrations, orrelative vibrations, in the twin shafts 26 and 28 as a result of thehead striking the ball, vibration damper 46 may be provided between theshafts 26 and 28. Damper 46 may take any suitable form and is shown forconvenience to be a small block of rubber mounted between the shafts 26and 28 at points upwardly spaced from the head 10.

Thus, a golf club construction is provided which is extremely sensitiveto the feel of the golfer and which eliminates the twisting or torquingproblems normally found in the club face as it travels through its arc.By controlling the amount of twist of the club head, the golfer isassured of more accuracy in the travel 'of the ball.

While numerous changes and modifications will occur to those havingskill in the art, after having had reference to the foregoingdescription and drawing, it is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention by the foregoing but by the scope of the appended claims inwhich:

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A golf club adapted to strike a ball and comprising:

a head having a face thereon adapted to contact said ball;

a first shaft extending upwardly from said head;

a second shaft extending upwardly from said head and being spaced fromsaid first shaft and on the opposite side of the plane containing saidface from said first shaft;

grip means surrounding and joining the upper ends of said first andsecond shafts;

and vibration damping means between said first and second shafts fordamping vibrations therein.

2. A golf club adapted to move a ball in a desired direction andcomprising:

a head having a ball contacting face thereon;

a first shaft extending upwardly from said head;

a second shaft extending upwardly from said head in generally spacedparallel relation to said first shaft and having a portion adjacent saidhead extending outwardly over said face;

said face being located in a plane generally normal to said desireddirection and between the plane containing the axis of said first shaftthat is generally normal to said desired direction and the planecontaining the axis of said second shaft that is generally normal tosaid desired direction; and

a grip member having a portion extending between said shafts to securesaid shafts in spaced relation.

3. The golf club set forth in claim 2 and further including vibrationdamping means between said first and second shafts for dampingvibrations therein.

4. A golf club adapted to strike a ball and comprising:

a head having a ball contacting face thereon and a shaft receivingportion extending upwardly and outwardly over said face;

a first shaft secured in said portion in said head and extendingupwardly therefrom;

a second shaft secured in said head at a point spaced from said portionof said head and extending upwardly therefrom and on the opposite sideof the plane containing said face from said first shaft, said secondshaft terminating in spaced parallel relation to said first shaft;

a grip member extending longitudinally of the upper portions of saidfirst and second shafts and having a portion disposed therebetween, saidgrip member and said first and second shafts forming a handle; and

a cap member receivable in the ends of said first and second shafts.

5. The golf club set forth in claim 4 and further including a Vibrationdamper disposed between said first and second shafts and upwardly spacedfrom said head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 687,539 11/1901 Palmer 27380.2687,540 11/1901 Palmer 27380.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 689,952 1964 Canada.

23,514 1907 Great Britain. 446,324 1936 Great Britain. 465,652 1937Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner P. E. SHAPIRO, Assistant ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R. 27380.2, 81

